Norman, Oklahoma USA

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Soonerguys Editor

Sooners win by fingertips in upset of Alabama

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With three seconds left in the 2nd quarter Oklahoma defender Taylor Wein leaped over the Alabama blockers and got his fingertips on the Tide’s attempted 35-yard field goal, deflecting it away.

It would become the first “play of the game” in the Sooners’ 23-21 upset of No. 4 Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

In the suspenseful waning minutes, it was not so sure that would be the story of the game.

Alabama was on a drive to take the lead in the final two minutes. With the Tide’s hopes of securing a spot in the SEC championship game on the line, Alabama converted on a fourth down and one, keeping their drive alive at their 42 yard line. A Kip Lewis sack of ‘Bama QB Ty Simpson put the Tide back to a 3rd and 21 from their 33 yard line.

Simpson completed a 15-yard pass to Isaiah Horton to the Alabama 48. That set up a fourth and six with only a minute left. Simpson’s pass was knocked away by Peyton Bowen’s fingertips and the Sooners won, 23-21.

A key play at 7:52 in the fourth quarter was a third down at the Alabama 38 yard line, when Mateer was flagged for intentional grounding. The penalty took Oklahoma out of field goal range at the 50-yard line and killed a drive that had the potential of putting the game away.

Earlier, near the end of the 3rd quarter, the Sooners grabbed the opportunity to take the lead, recovering a Ty Simpson fumble forced by the pass rush of Taylor Wein. A pass interference call against Alabama put the Sooners at the ‘Bama 10 yard line.

Oklahoma then ran the ball three times to reach the six. Tate Sandell then kicked a 24-yard field goal to take the lead 23-21.

In the opening drive of the second half, a key third down 22-yard toss by Mateer to Isaiah Sategna kept the drive alive, setting up a 52-yard field goal by Tate “Short Pants” Sandell which gave the Sooners a 20-14 lead over Alabama early in the 3rd quarter.

But Alabama responded on the next drive, juiced by a 26-yard pass from Ty Simpson to Isaiah Horton to the Oklahoma one yard line. A direct-snap one yard run by Daniel Hill for a touchdown and the extra point gave Alabama their first lead of the game, at 21-20. with 7:27 left in the 3rd quarter.

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‘Short pants’ Sandell kicks OU to big win

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Kicker Tate Sandell ripped his pants warming up at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville on Saturday night, causing him to hike his pants up so they wouldn’t fall down and giving him a bare-legged look when he went on to make field goals — from 40, 51 and two from 55 yards — to kick the Sooners to a 33-27 win and keep Oklahoma’s playoff chances alive.

Sandell said afterward he didn’t know the pants were so high until after the game. No matter, he may not fix the pants. No sense in messing with the Juju.

“I’m not going to say I’ll change it, because it’s working,” Sandell said.

Sandell’s most valuable player performance set a stadium record and kept playoff chances alive for Oklahoma (now 7-2).

“Probably the MVP. An absolute animal,” Coach Brent Venables said of Sandell.

The Sooners’ offense was stumbling in the first half, managing only 99 yards before intermission. But three Tennessee turnovers that were forced by a tenacious Sooners defense — which also stuffed the Vols run game (only 63 yards on 35 attempts) — kept Oklahoma in the game and with a 16-10 lead at half.

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4th quarter fumble takes air out of Boomer Sooner balloon, OU falls to Ol’ Miss 34-26

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With 7:11 left in the game, Isaiah Sategna began his punt return — riding the momentum that a revived offense and a stingy defense had presented after the halftime intermission, which saw the Sooners outscoring eighth-ranked Mississippi 16-3 in the third quarter.

The Sooners were behind 31-26, but despite a sloppy offensive performance most of the game, Sategna’s punt return presented the best opportunity for good field position when the Sooners needed it most.

Four seconds later, as his speedy wheels took him to the 50 yard line — a perfect place to launch the Sooners to a comeback winning drive — Sategna instead launched himself, hurdling an Ol’ Miss defender.

And on his way down, in that next second, at 7:04 on the clock, he fumbled.

The hope-filled balloon of those previous six seconds, the ones that carried a chance to take an Oklahoma lead late in the game and, if held, a win that would solidify the Sooners’ play off chances, burst.

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